Crocker gives update on Five-Year Provincial Roads Plan

Transportation and Works Minister Steve Crocker announced the 2019 edition of the Five-Year Provincial Roads Plan on Wednesday, Jan. 30.

This year’s update includes a complete list of projects for 2019, additional projects for years two, three and four, and a new fifth year, according to a release from the department.

It also contains updates on plans for the Trans-Labrador Highway, Team Gushue Highway, as well as other federal-provincial cost-shared projects.

Once again, $77.2 million has been set aside for the program. In addition, more than $40 million will be spent on the Trans-Labrador Highway and more than $12 million in other federal funding. Investments in road infrastructure for this year is more than $130 million.

“Two years after introducing the five-year roads plan, we have clear evidence that the plan is leading to more highways being repaved and more infrastructure being upgraded,” Crocker said.

“More than 1,400 lane kilometres have been repaved over the past two years combined, which exceeds previous years. When you issue and award tenders during the winter and early spring, as opposed to waiting until summer, more work gets completed by the end of the construction season.”

Public consultation on the plan held in 2018 received 326 submissions, the release noted.

Full details of the plan, including the routes scheduled for repairs for each year, can be found on www.roads.gov.nl.ca.